SWS has jumped the shark

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to a school where they emphasize kindness and acceptance but they also really worry about good parcc scores. It’s not mutually exclusive.

Congratulations, do you live in rich real estate on the Hill or in NW? Some of us don't have that luxury.

[Anonymous]

“Also, yes I like SWS' focus on kindness. In this world of school shootings (and I know someone personally impacted by one), and as someone who was bullied horribly, this matters to me. Some of my kid's friends who lotteried in later elementary grades spoke of bullying that was already starting by mid elementary in their in bounds school where parents were doing anything, including paying for private, to get out.”

This is amusing to me, a former SWS parent, who was very happy to get my child out of there due to bullying by a child of a teacher who was deemed important. They talk a good game but it’s telling when the rubber hits the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Also, yes I like SWS' focus on kindness. In this world of school shootings (and I know someone personally impacted by one), and as someone who was bullied horribly, this matters to me. Some of my kid's friends who lotteried in later elementary grades spoke of bullying that was already starting by mid elementary in their in bounds school where parents were doing anything, including paying for private, to get out.”

This is amusing to me, a former SWS parent, who was very happy to get my child out of there due to bullying by a child of a teacher who was deemed important. They talk a good game but it’s telling when the rubber hits the road.

A child was bullying a teacher?

[Anonymous]

Where does one lottery into that has better scores when one doesn't live in bounds for rich real estate elementary schools/preschool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, SWS has crossed into being weirdly obsessed with race. Every book is about Black people. Every art project is about Black people. Every field trip is about Black people. The children spend an inordinate amount of time on a yearly project called "Black Joy." The mother's day art clay mugs created by the children weirdly had Black singers drawn onto the back of them. SWS is sorting parents into racial affinity groups. The principal sends emails talking about how he's "a white man" and needs to focus on the school's "Black caregivers" and "Black and Brown students."

The number one thing the school could be doing to support Black students is ensuring that they are well prepared for middle school. Yet the PARCC scores over the past 10 years have steadily declined, as SWS's singular focus on race has increased.

It is kind of making me wonder whether it’s easier to hide a mediocre education behind all of this. If you question the falling PARCC scores, you’re now also a racist. Convenient.

As an UMC black parent of high-performing boys, I just have to screen all this stuff out. It used to infuriate me that folks would see my kids as objects of pity and hold them to lower expectations. And my kids most certainly don’t need a curricular approach that is specially “culturally relevant” to them (we can do that thru home/family/church, etc). What they really need is broad exposure to things that are not tied up in any one particular identity.

Then I realized that I just can’t fight these battles…there is always something. Now, I just take from the school what it does well and take care of the rest at home (which, in the end, is much more consequential).

+100.

[Anonymous]

Ok, let's not go there. There are bad apples at SWS like there are everywhere. But by and large the teachers do treat the kids with kindness and respect. And there are fewer bad apples, in this regard, at SWS than there are elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I love SWS. It was the absolute perfect place to be after Covid. The school cultivates kindness, caring, and creativity. My child’s brain is always buzzing with ideas and I’ve noticed the school’s approach is quite individualized. My kiddo is advanced academically. the school is safe, the kids are nice. It is an oasis among the pool of dcps schools accessible to most. The principal is making a concerted effort to narrow the performance gap between Black and white kids and there’s been progress. The Black parents I’ve met aren’t passively waiting for the gap to close. They are highly engaged and proponents of high academic standards. Sws is a unique place that everyone has lotteried into. Surely you knew before joining that this place is about infusing kindness, joy, and community into everything? Why complain now?

How very SWS of you. In one sentence you've illustrated why so many people think SWS has a race problem. Do you think black families get together and try and solve the performance gap? You seem surprised that black folks aren't just sitting around waiting. Newsflash, my lily white SWS friend, black parents are concerned about the performance of their kid. The only way this sentence makes sense is if you are suggesting that SWS is unique because black folks at SWS care about academic performance, as opposed the black parents at "lessor" schools.

Thanks for so clearly illustrating how the L.L. Lemon brigade views black people.

+100. Lord...that post.

It's also infuriating when parents of kids that are supposedly "academically advanced" tout the "kindness, joy" and related marketing dribble of these charter schools supposedly so focused on social justice. What about the kids who are NOT academically advanced--how are their needs being met at SWS? If there are performance gaps and the needs of these students are not being met, that means the school's commitment to equity is purely performative. Meeting the "needs" of academically advanced students is a low bar to clear.

It’s even worse, because once these “academically advanced” families realize their kid needs appropriately academic instruction, they will instantly bail from DCPS for charter or private or MCPS or possibly NW DC. Then they will say piously, “Our IB school was not a good fit for our family!”

This will happen eventually no matter where your kid goes to school on the Hill. If you have an academically advanced kid, you shouldn’t be sending them to school on the Hill past PK4.

This is silly. I’ve been pleased with how our Hill school differentiates. In lower grades it’s small groups and pull outs (or attending a class with a higher grade level if your kid is THAT advanced). In upper grades, it’s more computer time instead of whole group lessons and stretch problems/assignments as well. There’s also afterschool tutoring for those behind and enrichment for those ahead in math for free/heavily subsidized prices. My kids test 1-3 grade levels ahead and always meet their growth goals while enjoying school. It’s absolutely not a real suburban G&T program, but it’s enough until they hit middle school tracking/faster pace curriculum.

Maybe other schools don’t do it as well or maybe your kid isn’t as advanced as you think?

Not happening. Or you are in ECE and don't know what differentiation is yet.

Everything I said above is currently happening at L-T, the Hill school my kids attend. They’re in 1st & 3rd, if that matters.

Parents of kids in those grades are adorable. You don't know what you don't know. But good on you for being a cliche SH parents and not letting your ignorance get in the way of informed opinions.

How much differentiating is needed at a school like L-T? Aren't most people relatively close in levels? In that case, you don't need much more beyond small groups, etc. At other schools, you will have a 3rd grade classroom with kids reading on a 5th grade level and kids reading at a kindergarten level. That's when what PP is describing doesn't work so well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where does one lottery into that has better scores when one doesn't live in bounds for rich real estate elementary schools/preschool?

This is exactly it. I think it is totally fair to want SWS over many low-performing IB schools in DC. Just have eyes wide open as to what you are choosing. I think that the smugness that SWS is better than Brent, Maury, Ludlow, however, needs to stop. SWS is simply not producing kinder or more academically prepared students than any of those schools. We know people at all of them. ( I say this with the caveat that SWS does seem to nip bullying in the bud at school better than many other schools. I don't think it changes the bullies long-term-- plenty do graduate from SWS and go on to bully kids at MS. But it does have the benefit of keeping it out of the school day. Some parents are going to be more concerned about this than others, depending on their kid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where does one lottery into that has better scores when one doesn't live in bounds for rich real estate elementary schools/preschool?

This is exactly it. I think it is totally fair to want SWS over many low-performing IB schools in DC. Just have eyes wide open as to what you are choosing. I think that the smugness that SWS is better than Brent, Maury, Ludlow, however, needs to stop. SWS is simply not producing kinder or more academically prepared students than any of those schools. We know people at all of them. ( I say this with the caveat that SWS does seem to nip bullying in the bud at school better than many other schools. I don't think it changes the bullies long-term-- plenty do graduate from SWS and go on to bully kids at MS. But it does have the benefit of keeping it out of the school day. Some parents are going to be more concerned about this than others, depending on their kid).

At this point, SWS *feels* like it has changed in demographics over the past few years to become a bit more diverse, has more non-Hill parents of more diverse backgrounds and SES. More than half my kid's friends (maybe two thirds?) don't live in bounds for any Hill school and couldn't afford to. However, DCUM talks like everyone at SWS lives on Capitol Hill, has choices, and chose SWS when things are changing each year. Even if I had a choice (I don't live on Capitol Hill or rich NW), knowing a school does do a decent job of combating bullying and promoting kindness (even if yes, bad apples and incidents occur, speaking on the whole), I WILL prioritize that over a school that gets higher PARCC scores. It matters that much to me, as a previously bullied person. Our experience is that yes, SWS does do a good job on the bullying front.

[Anonymous]

Interestingly enough for a “kind” school they did a terrible job making sure my special needs kids got services. Happy to leave to another school that valued results and made sure we got our services. It’s only performative kindness and mediocre academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interestingly enough for a “kind” school they did a terrible job making sure my special needs kids got services. Happy to leave to another school that valued results and made sure we got our services. It’s only performative kindness and mediocre academics.

+1 we also had a very bad experience at SWS with respect to complying with our child's IEP. You should check your service logs, parents (you can email the school and ask for them), because it's likely your kids are not getting the services set forth in the IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interestingly enough for a “kind” school they did a terrible job making sure my special needs kids got services. Happy to leave to another school that valued results and made sure we got our services. It’s only performative kindness and mediocre academics.

+1 we also had a very bad experience at SWS with respect to complying with our child's IEP. You should check your service logs, parents (you can email the school and ask for them), because it's likely your kids are not getting the services set forth in the IEP.

This is such a strong statement considering that an IEP is a legally binding document. I am a parent of a SWS SN kid & I am absolutely pleased with the services my SN kid receives. I have seen tremendous growth in my child thanks to teachers and specialists. I routinely ask for logs and request several meetings throughout the year for status updates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interestingly enough for a “kind” school they did a terrible job making sure my special needs kids got services. Happy to leave to another school that valued results and made sure we got our services. It’s only performative kindness and mediocre academics.

+1 we also had a very bad experience at SWS with respect to complying with our child's IEP. You should check your service logs, parents (you can email the school and ask for them), because it's likely your kids are not getting the services set forth in the IEP.

This is such a strong statement considering that an IEP is a legally binding document. I am a parent of a SWS SN kid & I am absolutely pleased with the services my SN kid receives. I have seen tremendous growth in my child thanks to teachers and specialists. I routinely ask for logs and request several meetings throughout the year for status updates.

It is a strong statement, and it's accurate. Which is why I suggest that parents pull their service logs. Many children at SWS have not received their services all year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interestingly enough for a “kind” school they did a terrible job making sure my special needs kids got services. Happy to leave to another school that valued results and made sure we got our services. It’s only performative kindness and mediocre academics.

+1 we also had a very bad experience at SWS with respect to complying with our child's IEP. You should check your service logs, parents (you can email the school and ask for them), because it's likely your kids are not getting the services set forth in the IEP.

This is such a strong statement considering that an IEP is a legally binding document. I am a parent of a SWS SN kid & I am absolutely pleased with the services my SN kid receives. I have seen tremendous growth in my child thanks to teachers and specialists. I routinely ask for logs and request several meetings throughout the year for status updates.

It is a strong statement, and it's accurate. Which is why I suggest that parents pull their service logs. Many children at SWS have not received their services all year.

IEP services? No. But they are incredibly knowledgeable on anti-racism matters, so there's that.

[Anonymous]

Some of the parents can come off as brash. Just a vibe you get when you run into them on the playground and hear them talk about how awesome their weekend was.